ACEBOTT QD023 is an ESP32-based wearable gesture control glove that tracks finger movements with potentiometers instead of more traditional flex sensors. The glove transmits data via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to control various robotics kits, such as bipedal walkers, mecanum-wheeled cars, and robotic arms.
The glove integrates five potentiometers for finger bending detection, and a 6-axis MPU6050 IMU for wrist rotation, tilt, and hand posture detection in real time. Other Hardware features include a USB Type-C port for programming and debugging, four AAA batteries for power, buttons, LEDs, and more. Tutorials and assembly guides make it suitable for K-12 education, classrooms, and hobbyist robotics projects.
ACEBOTT QD023 specifications:
- Wireless Module – ESP32-WROOM-32D (soldered on the backside of the PCB)
- SoC – ESP32 dual-core wireless microcontroller
- CPU – Dual-core Xtensa 32-bit microprocessor @ 240MHz
- Memory – 520KB internal SRAM
- Wireless – Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, and Bluetooth (4.2 and BLE)
- PCB antenna
- SoC – ESP32 dual-core wireless microcontroller
- USB – USB Type-C port for power programming and debugging
- Sensors
- 5x Rotary potentiometers (encoders) connected to finger linkages to detect bending
- MPU6050 6-axis Inertial Measurement Unit (3-axis gyroscope + 3-axis accelerometer) for hand tilt and rotation tracking
- Misc
- Power toggle switch
- Boot, EN, and K1(user button)
- Indicator LED
- Power – 3V – 12V spport via PH2.0 port
- Dimensions – 128 x 100 mm
We usually rely on flex sensors for various gesture control projects, but they are fragile, inconsistent, and costly. The QD023 takes a different approach with a “bionic” mechanical exoskeleton structure to solve these issues. When a finger bends, the plastic linkage rotates a potentiometer knob which the MCU reads and convert it to gesture data. This design is generally more durable for classroom environments and provides consistent analog feedback (0-90° flexion), though it does add bulk to the back of the hand.
The controller board is mounted on the wrist and exposes the ESP32’s USB-C port for programming. The company mentions the glove designed for their Explorer Series robot kits, such as the QD001 smart car and QD021 bipedal robot, but the hardware is Arduino-compatible, so you can tweak some of the code to control other similar robotics platforms, including Amazing Hand-style robots, Tonybot-like humanoids, robotic arms such as the Yahboom DOFBOT, Waveshare RoArm-M3-Pro and RoArm-M3-S, as well as robotic cars like OpenWheely or MentorPi. The documentation (attached zip) mentions the glove can broadcast pre-defined commands (command0 to 17) based on specific gestures like a closed fist or open palm. The company also provides a beginner-friendly, block-based coding environment called ACECode based on Scratch 3.0, but the device also supports Arduino IDE and Python (likely MicroPython or CircuitPython), making it a viable option for custom projects. ACEBOTT documentation is usually decent, at least it was Jean-Luc’s experience when he reviewed the ACEBOTT QE007 Smart Home kit.
The ACEBOTT QD023 Motion-Sensing Glove is available for $48.71 on Amazon after ticking the 20% discount box, $49.28 on the Cytron store (where we first learned of the device), and $53.98 on the ACEBOTT store.
Debashis Das is a technical content writer and embedded engineer with over five years of experience in the industry. With expertise in Embedded C, PCB Design, and SEO optimization, he effectively blends difficult technical topics with clear communication
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